Blood Of The Assassin
by TokehGecko
Summary: Extreme AU. Here, Hanzou had never fallen to darkness. He always remained true to his ambition and aimed for peace. This story tells of the alliance between Fire and Rain. Powerful NaruxHarem


Naruto Fanfiction

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto

Author's Note: AU, if Hanzou never took to the dark roads and he and Danzou never made any form of a pact. MAJOR AU. Hasn't been pre-read, so I'll probably have to reupload this chapter on a later date.

* * *

The whistling tune the wind carried along and in between the leaves flying around him gave him a sense of tranquility. A peace not so deserved, but so very well received. The times of the Shinobi were harsh and unforgiving. He wondered if he had been doing the right thing all his life. Travelling, sharing, experiencing, maturing and occasionally, nurturing.

Quite a few had learned from him and he would at times question his own methods. Whether he did the right thing or not, whether he taught too much or too little.

He didn't know what had become of Yahiko, Konan and Nagato. Namikaze Minato had already died at a time where he was… not close by.

The great Toad Sage, Jiraiya, stopped writing down on one of his scrolls to release a yawn he didn't want to let out.

"Jiraiya-sama. We have realized the whereabouts of one of the Seven Swordsmen of the Mist. Perhaps we should move out?"

The legendary Konoha-nin turned to regard the leader of the country he was currently in. "No need, Mifune-sama. That certain group has disbanded. I require no information from them, though I'm curious which of the seven you've located."

Momochi Zabuza. And he's carrying his famous sword with him." The Samurai leader let out, taking a seat next to Jiraiya, who had his own office in the Land of Iron. The Toad Summoner usually stayed in this country.

"Zabuza, huh?" Jiraiya allowed a short chuckle from himself. "I wonder if that little brat's gotten any stronger."

"You seem to be less interested in the swordsmen, Jiraiya-sama."

"Yes. I've found their recent attempt, their coup d'état, in Kiri intriguing, but it turns out my assumptions were wrong… for the time being." Jiraiya explained. "For now, it seems my attention should be on the Rain Country. They've been quiet for a very long time, and then this all of a sudden..."

* * *

Blood Of The Assassin  
Prologue

* * *

Kinjutsu. It meant the world to him, the world and then some more. While he couldn't attain and perform the lot of them, the majority were quite harmless to his person.

The young boy, no older than fifteen, was seated in front of a fresh campfire, reading and writing down in a scroll with sharp concentration. He was dressed like a Rain Shinobi ranked Jounin, a small helmet, covering his head, with what seemed like glass in front of his eyes, allowing for sight. A breather hung out of the mask, most likely to prevent any poison from seeping into the helmet. The helmet itself was dark green bordering on black, the breather pitch black.

His vest was dark green as well, with his shirt black. His arms were armored with black pads, the same for his legs. His long pants were dark green. On his back was a large Fuuinjutsu seal, in the form of a big swirl.

"Yo."

The boy looked up to see Hozuhki Mangetsu approach him, a wicked grin plastered on his face. His attire was much the same, save for the helmet and where the boy carried himself in dark green, this man wore dark blue. He had shoulder-length silver hair and teeth like fangs of a wolf.

"You studying again? Tcheh, I swear you'd think Hanzou-sama was trying to make a librarian out of you." The older man plopped next to the boy down on the ground. "It makes sense, though. You ARE the stupidest of the bunch, after all."

The other didn't give any form of response, other than writing down something new on the scroll and checking the notes again. His breathing through his gas mask filled the silent clearing as Mangetsu was just about to focus on the fire in front of him when two persons Shunshined into the clearing.

"Tcheh, you two sure took your sweet time." Mangetsu complained. "But then, I was kinda late too… Tcheh, Naruto's the only one who kicked the clock."

The two shrugged after they looked at each other. "He's lucky like that." The shorter of the two let out. Her name was Shigure Moyu, a Rain Jounin who was making a name for herself in Rain Country. She carried the exact same uniform as Mangetsu. She had long orange hair, worn loosely roundabout her.

Kuriarare Kushimaru, who was really tall and thin, carried a Mist Hunter-nin Mask under his Gas Helmet and, like the others, wore the same Rain Jounin Uniform, although his was dark purple. Kushimaru was, like Mangetsu, one of the former Seven Swordsmen of the Mist.

Currently, Mangetsu had with him two swords; The Boltsword 'Fang' and the Bluntword 'Helmsplitter.' Kushimaru obviously had his own sword, The Longsword 'Thread Needle'

Rain Country was poor, very poor. They didn't have the resources like the Great Countries have, but they did have the powerful Shinobi. These four were part of 'The Shuuban', an organization within Rain that operated only for bounties. They were a Band of Bounty Hunters. And they were good.

Hanzou had trained some of them personally, like Moyu and Naruto , while others were recruited, like Mangetsu and Kushimaru.

No one in Rain knew how big this Bounty Hunter organization was and Hanzou intended to keep it that way.

* * *

**Iwagakure**

The Sandaime Tsuchikage was thoroughly pissed off at the commotion in his own Village. Just this morning a huge earthquake had caused severe damage to a lot of the buildings, including his own home. "Was it Deidara!" He yelled to his secretary, who could do nothing but shake in complete fear, not knowing the answer.

His former student had joined an organization called Tsukigami, with which he had no qualms with whatsoever. Hell, he had used it to his and his country's own advantage at times. But he always suspected that Deidara had a grudge against Iwa.

"Gramps!"

Onoki grumbled at the addressing, glaring at the young woman in front of him. "What is it, Kurotsuchi?"

Before the leader stood a short-haired, black-haired woman which had a grin that seemed to be natural on her face, like it was a permanent one. But she did seem a bit shaken up. "Old man… I don't know if it's Deidara, but someone's giving my dad a hard time!"

"WHAT? Kitsuchi is?"

Kurotsuchi was still smiling. "Well, I wouldn't worry too much about it, right? I mean, whoever it is, or whoever they are… We're an entire country right now! Send me out there, old man!"

"… I wonder why you're still here, crazy girl." Onoki grumbled, levitating past her to stare at the chaos outside his Tower. "Let's deal with this!"

Suddenly, before they could rush out through the shattered window of his office, a red haze materialized, one which to Onoki seemed awfully familiar. "Shishi Enjin?" He growled.

"Not exactly, but you're pretty close…" The Shishi Enjin was rectangular, this technique was a Red Orb…

Onoki and Kurotsuchi turned to see three Shinobi, obviously from Rain judging from the gas masks, standing in the Tsuchikage's Office. "H-Hanzou!"

Kurotsuchi involuntarily took a quivery step backwards, out of utter fear. If this was Hanzou the Salamander, she would be completely useless…

"Yes… Despite the many foul rumors of my demise, I still stand." Hanzou was flanked by two of his guards. "Rest assured, tiny fool… We are not here to end you or your Country." He put a hand on his mask, which greatly unsettled Onoki. "I see you realize what my actions mean, Onoki…"

Everyone knew that if Hanzou took off his mask, a very potent poison would linger around him, as it was his very breath which was the poison. "I want one thing. Your scroll of sealing. Hand it to me now and you will live."

"… What you ask for is not currently in my possession." The short Kage bit out. "Perhaps you should deactivate this form of the Shishi Enjin, as it's the only to get to that scroll."

"You take me for a child, boy?" Hanzou calmly responded. While Onoki was actually old, Hanzou was just older. "It's on you. If you so wish, it's also possible to rip it off your carcass."

Onoki snarled at the older leader, completely unprepared for a situation such as this. "How did you get in here unnoticed?"

"Oh, perhaps you feel there's a slight chance of the Kagiru Kyuutai to have a limit of its activity and are attempting to stall? I'm greatly pleased to disappoint you in the matter. Nothing enters, nothing leaves. Even Maton Ninjutsu are of no use in here or against it. So… I have time. Time to rip off all the Fuuinjutsu security you have on you."

The aging leader of Stone grimaced. Hanzou was a Seal Expert so there was no questioning he was able. The scroll of sealing was sealed in his body. It could be summoned by focusing Chakra on the seal on his left shoulder. "I see you are well-informed."

Hanzou grinned behind his mask. "We have good eyes."

Kurotsuchi was quiet during all of this, observing Hanzou's guards, who had remained completely immobile as well. While Onoki was a strong, capable leader, he was sometimes too strong, especially in a situation like this. He could reduce anything to dust, but it usually covered a large area. This area… wasn't really big.

Onoki's eyes widened as one of Hanzou's guards was standing behind Kurotsuchi all of a sudden. He hadn't even blinked and he was there! 'F-fast!'

"It took quite some time to have all those guards of yours far enough from you so we could perform the Confining Sphere here…" Hanzou started. "This woman was the only one who stayed close to you the entire time. I assume she is one of your elite guards?"

'That… seemed far too similar to Hiraishin…' Onoki thought. 'But how!'

"Hand over the scroll and you will both survive." Hanzou ordered.

Onoki watched as Hanzou's guard had a weird Chakra around his… claws? Looking closer he noticed it was dark red Chakra, it seemed lethal to even go near it… And it was very close to Kurotsuchi's neck… "Very well…"

Gathering Chakra in his right shoulder, a scroll got summoned in mid-air, which was casually grabbed by Onoki. As he was about to throw it to Hanzou, Kurotsuchi screamed in extreme pain.

"Oops… My hand slipped."

Onoki turned to see Kurotsuchi's right arm on the floor, a big puddle of blood around it. Kurotsuchi was on her knees, gritting her teeth in pain.

Hanzou was unsure so he nodded to his guard for explanation.

Before the guard could explain, though, Onoki exploded. "You insolent little-!"

But he in turn got cut off as Hanzou's guard appeared behind the shorter man this time, a great sword of red Chakra resting on top of his head. "You'd be wise, Onoki-sama, to perhaps give the genuine scroll of sealing to Hanzou-sama."

Onoki was completely enraged and didn't care about the guard at all. He was about to perform handseals when Hanzou took off his mask and the entire office was coated in a dark purple cloud. "I'm so sad it had to come to this…"

Hanzou's operating guard had appeared next to the other guard, who hadn't moved at all. They were both save from the poison as they were wearing gas masks. Onoki was a coughing mess on the floor, but he was crawling towards Kurotsuchi. "You… You bastards!" he managed in between coughs.

"Now, now… We've given fair warnings, have we not?" Hanzou cruelly smirked as he approached the man. "I can still give you the antidote now, if you hand me the scroll. Relinquish that hold on your pride for a moment and submit to my order, Tsuchikage…"

As he was coughing, Onoki quickly summoned the real scroll of sealing and dropped it on the ground next to him. The guard who had done nothing until now grabbed it and nodded to the other guard, at which the red orb around them was deactivated.

The two guards left without a word, Hanzou quick to follow.

"W-wait! The antidote!" Onoki screeched on the ground. Kurotsuchi was already unconscious. "You lying son of a bitch!"

"There's no need for all of that, Onoki. I am a man of my word." Hanzou uttered as he went to retrieve something out of his pocket. A small bag was thrown against Onoki's chest. "Tell your medics to use that to patch you up."

"Oh, and one more thing… If you harbor any kind hatred towards Ame from this moment on… I advise you to learn of the fact that we are now… in an official alliance with Konoha." He took one last look at the arm on the floor next to Onoki's female guard. "You could have prevented all of this, Tsuchikage."

* * *

**Amegakure**

"I can't believe it! We're well on our way aren't we?" A young man with orange hair let out enthusiastically. "This is great! The alliance between Ame, Konoha and Suna is official! "

Konan, a blue haired woman, with shoulder-length hair, Ame Jounin, sighed at the enthusiasm in Yahiko's voice. "Yahiko! You know Nagato isn't too keen on Konoha Shinobi. Be more discrete!"

"Don't worry about it, Konan." Nagato came up from behind them. They were in the waiting room of the hospital, waiting for a friend to be checked out. "Ever since Jiraiya-sensei, I've been able to manage. Perhaps, thanks to this alliance, we may be able to see him again?"

A nurse was approaching the trio. "You're allowed to see him now."

The three Rain Jounin made their way to a room filled with commotion.

"What were you thinking? We would've gotten out there without you black bombing the place! You trash!"

"That voice…" Nagato started, uncertain if he wanted to deal with this. "Don't tell me…"

Konan also grimaced as they stood in the doorway, overlooking a young woman scolding an older, young man. Yahiko chuckled unsurely, which tore the young woman's attention from the man in the hospital bed to him. "And where the hell were you three?"

"Uhmm… You did notice those three Summon Bosses, right?" Nagato uttered dryly.

"Yeah, but I didn't see you doing anything?"

Konan and Yahiko offered Nagato an innocent smile. "What are you, looking for me the entire time on a battlefield?"

Tayuya, which was the name of the young red-haired woman, glared. "You're the captain of our squad, damn it! Of course I have to know where you are so I can hear your goddamn, usually useless, orders, right!"

Nagato´s head dropped. "Right…"

Yahiko and Konan walked past their depressed comrade to give attention to the man in the hospital bed. "Are you alright, Shisui-san?"

Uchiha Shisui, a man shunned by his own Village, Konoha, was now a Rain Jounin. He was forced to flew from Konoha alongside his partner Uchiha Itachi, as they were both set up by Uchiha Madara as the ones responsible for the Uchiha Massacre.

As far as Konoha knew, though, he alone was responsible for the Uchiha Massacre, after he gained the Mangekyou Sharingan by killing his best friend, Uchiha Itachi. Of course, he never did kill Itachi, and they both fled. Madara himself killed all the Uchiha in Konoha.

Rumors had it that Itachi's younger brother, Uchiha Sasuke, had turned Nuke-nin and was now in Sound, working under the Snake Sage, Orochimaru. Apparently, Itachi's younger brother wanted to kill him for killing Itachi and the entire Uchiha Clan. Boy would he be surprised to see Itachi alive and well.

But that left the problem that was Uchiha Madara.

Where was he?

"Oy, you lost the ability to talk, shitface?"

Shisui offered Tayuya, who was inches away from his own face, a dry, annoyed look. "Tayuya, I'm reaching my limit here."

"So how did it go on your end?"

Shisui moved his attention away from Tayuya, who was backing off, to Yahiko, who asked the question. "We were good. Everything went well until that big guy appeared."

"Big guy?" Konan asked as she took a seat next to Shisui's bed. The rest remained standing, as there was no other chair.

"Yeah, he's a big shot in Iwa; Kitsuchi."

Realization hit all of them in the face at the mention of the name.

"We all retreated as soon as Hanzou's Salamander ripped through the grounds and released a poison cloud." Shisui continued. "But Kitsuchi was hot on our tail, so I performed one of my Enton Ninjutsu. I'm sure that killed him, but I blacked out after that. Apparently Tayuya carried me all the way back to Ame."

Tayuya snorted. "Don't flatter yourself, weakling. Who would carry such a disappointment."

Everyone offered Tayuya a dry look. Nagato finally entered the room as well. "I let one of my ogres eat you and carry you."

"Gee, thanks." Shisui deadpanned. "But the mission was a success, right?"

"Yeah, and congratulations, by the way." Tayuya again.

"For what?" Even Nagato, Konan and Yahiko gave Tayuya their attention.

"For being the only one who's in a hospital bed, of course."

* * *

Uchiha Itachi wasn't sure what to think as he was standing next to the slightly shorter guard of Hanzou. He wasn't told anything as he was plucked from his own squad to be Hanzou's personal guard in this big mission. Now that the scroll of sealing was in their possession, Hanzou was reading through it in his office and had ordered them to stay.

The former Konoha-nin was a cold, calculating Shinobi, who knew a lot about persons just by looking at them. He never knew who Hanzou's personal guards were, just that they were insanely strong. This other guard's body showed that he was younger than himself.

He was surprised by the technique he unleashed during the mission in Iwa. That Kagiru Kyuutai was amazing, very similar to Doton; Kekkai Doroudoumu… An earth-based technique, which created a small cave, designed to drain everyone inside of their Chakra. Only the Kagiru Kyuutai was purely Chakra and didn't drain Chakra, but was meant to just confine.

Itachi had guessed why he was chosen for this mission. Most likely because he had the Sharingan. And this other guard… he knew the Fourth's Hiraishin and Fuuinjutsu. Quite the talented nin. He had also guessed that this guy was probably a member of Hanzou's Shuuban.

"You can take your mask off now, Itachi. The gas around me has sufficiently evaporated now. But I'm sure you've already noticed such with your eyes." Hanzou let out after a short silence. After the mission they had immediately gone to Hanzou's office.

After a short nod, Itachi removed the gas mask and expected the other guard to do the same.

"Uchiha Itachi…" The other guard breathed through his mask. "Quite the pleasure to meet you." He held out his hand.

The Sharingan user shook the hand.

"I am Namikaze Naruto, also known as Uzumaki Naruto." He then motioned to his mask. "I'm afraid I am the same as Hanzou-sama. Removing my mask will prove fatal for all around me."

Hanzou snorted.

Behind his mask, Naruto rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine… I do have the same ability, but unlike Hanzou, I can actually control my breath." He removed the gas mask to show Itachi the blonde Jinchuuriki, formerly from Konoha. His left eye was bandaged, though.

"Itachi, I want you to meet a member of the Shuuban, Namikaze Naruto. I am also offering you… a position in the Shuuban." Hanzou folded the scroll up, before throwing it to Naruto, who caught it without looking away from Itachi.

"Which means?"

"Freedom, with the exception to answer my few calls. You will be part of a bounty hunter squad. All you do is kill persons with a Bounty and gather the money for Ame. You'll still be a Shinobi from Ame, with the highest rank, aside that of mine, obviously." Hanzou read the look on Itachi's face. "You're free to refuse. Your service as a Jounin will be appreciated just as much."

"Why, Hanzou-sama?"

"Konoha does not know of your and Shisui's presence in Ame. Neither does it of Naruto's. In Shuuban, that will remain so. I was going to offer Shisui the same." Hanzou chuckled shortly. "Though it doesn't really matter… Even if Konoha finds out we are housing three Nuke-nin from Konoha, nothing will change. The Alliance I have signed assures this. For they also have Nuke-nin from my country."

Itachi nodded his head. "You know 'ne', I assume?"

"You mean Danzou?"

Another nod from Itachi.

"Yes, he is a very annoying thorn in my little toe." The leader confessed. "He is one that must be dealt with. But, only by permission of Senju Tsunade, the Godaime Hokage." Hanzou sighed. "To be honest, Ame has become quite the wealthy Country. There is no longer a need for Shuuban, but it will still be there, in the shadows." He changed topic, staring at Naruto, who was leaning against the wall, his gas helmet in his right hand.

"Naruto, you and the other Shuuban Members will become Ame Jounin, next to being Ame Bounty Hunters. Inform your captain, you are dismissed." The blonde nodded his head, put the mask back on and slowly evaporated with dark red smoke. Hanzou turned to Itachi.

"Tell me, Itachi, how would your former Village respond to the knowledge of your location here?"

"Konoha assumes me dead, Hanzou-sama. I think they would be… very volatile. The Council would immediately demand my return. Shisui will have it harder, as he is blamed for my death and the demise of the Uchiha Clan."

"Yes, I figured as much. I have a very important mission for you, Itachi. Konoha is sending two very promising Medic-nin to Ame, apprentices to the Legendary Tsunade. They are to investigate the two of you, but they are not to find out you are Uchiha."

Itachi mulled it over. "You want me to perform Genjutsu on them while they work on Shisui and Shisui on them when they work on me?"

"Yes." He responded, not at all surprised by the quickness in which Itachi had figured that out. "Are you willing?"

The Uchiha grinned. "Yes, my Genjutsu skills need to be tested every once in a while, after all."

"Good. These Medic-nin will cure the illness the Mangekyou Sharingan carries with it. If they do not, they will stay here until they do."

"How? What if they find out it's the Mangekyou that's causing it?"

"All they know is that it's an illness. I suspect an illness that's most active during your Mangekyou. You'll have to activate the Mangekyou during their treatment while the other performs Genjutsu that keeps the Mangekyou from being sensed or seen."

Things were getting complicated, but Itachi could deal and he was sure Shisui could do the same. This is what they both really want, after all. "Understood, Hanzou-sama."

"Be very careful, though, Itachi. I expect Konoha to send a Hyuga as well…"

* * *

**Kirigakure**

"An alliance?"

"Yes, between Suna, Konoha and Ame…"

Uchiha Sasuke shot Uchiha Madara a bored look. "So what? More important, have you gotten any closer to knowing my brother's whereabouts?"

The supposed-to-be-dead Uchiha gave the youngster a short look. "No." he lied. The last thing they needed now was Sasuke rushing towards Rain, running towards his certain death. "This country… We should focus on strengthening it. We may have overpowered it now, by almost killing everyone here, but it was easy thanks to me. I was its former leader, after all."

Kirigakure was a powerful country, but Oto… combined with Tsukigami, Madara's organization, proved stronger.

A mean chuckle resounded from behind the duo as they were joined by Orochimaru. "Now that the Mist is ours, who will be Mizukage, then?" Orochimaru was quickly joined by his right-hand man, Yakushi Kabuto, who looked very similar to the Snake Sage.

"I will be." Madara answered. "You may have what you've always wanted, but that's only thanks to me, Orochimaru. "

Orochimaru turned his gaze, his Sharingan gaze, to Madara, and snickered. "Of course, Madara…"

The young Uchiha in the room sighed at the weird tension between Madara and Orochimaru. Ever since Uchiha Madara came to Oto for negotiations, Sasuke was frustrated. Another Uchiha was alive… Madara and his followers joined Oto's forces shortly after and their plans were to get a country of their own, a real country, not a small space of land like the Sound had.

So they conquered Kiri, which took several days.

Thanks to two former Kiri-nin, Hoshigaki Kisame and the former Yondaime Mizukage, Uchiha Madara, it was easy to overthrow Kiri. Of course, there were survivors, who all fled, like the current Mizukage, Terumi Mei and several of her Jounin.

The ones who stayed behind were either slain or were forced to join the Madara´s and Oto's cause.

Madara didn't like things were going in the world. He needed anarchy to manipulate everything and everyone around him. His original plan was to overtake Rain, but its organization Shuuban was extremely powerful, not to mention Hanzou himself and his powerful Shinobi.

It was quite frustrating not to get to where you wanted to be, but… he supposed he could operate from within Kiri just as well.

The Tsukigami was quite the force, though. With Hidan, Kakuzu, Deidara, Hoshigaki Kisame, Zetsu, Sasori and himself as the main force, the organization had grown bigger with more members as Madara kept on recruiting members. He even considered Oto as a Tsukigami Member, although he knew he would always have to keep his eye on Orochimaru.

The only reason Orochimaru agreed to join his forces was because Madara offered him Mangekyou Sharingan eyes. The Snake Sage had become very powerful because of it and Yakushi Kabuto had infused himself with blood and Chakra of his master and had become quite strong as well.

So Orochimaru wasn't really interested in Sasuke's body either, anymore, which made him less of a nuisance to Madara. The snake had its uses too, though, with powerhouses such as Kaguya Kimimaro, Hozuhki Suigetsu, Juugo, Jiroubou, Sakon, Kidoumaru, Yakushi Kabuto and Uchiha Sasuke.

They were in the Mizukage's office, overlooking the village they had bombarded with Jutsu. Repairs were being done all over the place. They would make it livable again.

"Our next move will be…" Madara seemed to ponder it for a moment. "To hunt down Mei Terumi. She's a survivor of our clash we can't afford to have walking around. She has information on all of us, after all."

* * *

**Konohagakure**

"Hyuga Neji, Nara Shikamaru, Haruno Sakura, Shizune and Hatake Kakashi."

All who were just named were standing in the office in front of the Fifth Hokage, Senju Tsunade.

"You've been summoned for a very important mission, ranked S. Your orders are for infiltration, observation, protection and… medical care. You are all being sent towards Amegakure."

The lot's eyes widened. No one entered the Rain Country just like that, even if an Alliance has just been signed. "I am on good terms with Hanzou, as I owe my title to him."

'Legendary sucker?' Kakashi thought.

"Hanzou's views on the world of the Shinobi run on a very similar line as mine. We both wished for this alliance, but it is not, in fact, complete yet. Hanzou has informed me of Shinobi within his Country whose loyalty were once Konoha's, are now Ame's. I've informed him of the same within our country. While we do have former Rain Shinobi who are now Konoha Shinobi, I have not told him their names, as he did not share theirs either. Nara Shikamaru, your task is to find out which Konoha Nuke-nin are within Ame. Hyuga Neji will shadow you on that front, but his primary duty is to protect Shizune and Sakura alongside Kakashi, as they perform the demand Hanzou has given for the alliance."

"What was this demand, Hokage-sama?" Shikamaru voiced.

"The treatment of a few of his soldiers, with illnesses he's unfamiliar with, as is his entire medical crew."

Kakashi put a hand to his chin. "What about Konoha's demands?"

"We have none, as it was our side who suggested an alliance with them. Konoha has made a lot of enemies and Rain seems to be growing in strength with the years. But they, too, have enemies. We should help each other out. So we have no demands." Tsunade shrugged. "Gather information on Amegakure, try to find out as much as you can without doing anything reckless. I may be on good terms with Hanzou and so is Jiraiya, but… I want those terms to remain good, I don't want Amegakure as an enemy."

* * *

**Amegakure**

Years… For years it has been unknown to everyone what happened to the Jinchuuriki of the Kyuubi, the son of the Yellow Flash, Namikaze Uzumaki Naruto. He had been taken from Konoha when he was around nine, ten years old, eleven, maybe. He was a Ninja Academy Student at the time, even.

To think he resided within the rainy walls of Ame. And he was a member of the infamous Shuuban. An organization known for its lethalness. Itachi was sure Naruto had become a very powerful ninja.

With those thoughts, Itachi was remembering what Konoha was like. Peaceful, but its inhabitants were ignorant to the world. All thanks to the pacifist leaders. Still, it was comfortable to be in such an environment and though the saying is meant to be negative, ignorance still is bliss.

When he heard that his little brother, Sasuke, had defected from Konoha, he wasn't really surprised. The Village created powerful nin, but in a long amount of time. Something he was sure his little brother was not fine with. A shame that Sasuke is after Shisui, too, but that problem will be dealt with when the time comes.

He was on his way to the hospital to see his best friend, sure that he was surrounded by his squad. He just hoped that annoying redhead wasn't there.

The Uchiha looked up at the sky and noticed the rain had let up. Contrary to popular belief, it didn't ALWAYS rain in Ame. Sure, it did most of the time, but Hanzou was nice enough to have massive roof constructed over the entire Village, which made it look like a town within a glass globe.

When it didn't rain, there was no roof. The village would only close up if it was raining for too long on end.

Itachi was vice-captain of his own squad, second to Yahiko. Others in his squad were Konan, Kinoko Kutake and Takabashi Nakao.

Yahiko was the captain of his squad, a squad comparable to an ANBU team in Konoha, where the masks in his team were gas masks, of course. Yahiko's skills were comparable to those of the Nidaime Hokage. He could do anything with water. That, combined with his complete mastery of the Fire Element, made him a very difficult opponent. Especially considering his ability 'Fire Sponge.'

Konan was paper, complete and utter paper. While her ability had lots of weaknesses, it had more strengths, as you never knew what was paper and what wasn't. You might be attacking yourself as anything on paper spreads like.. well, like fire.

Kinoko Kutake was a green-haired female Jounin. Her hair was tied in on ponytail that almost reached her butt. Bangs almost covered her eyes and two long bangs covered her ears. Her ability was similar to that of Yahiko's, a sponge. She could summon plants that drain Chakra, or rather, she could summon mushrooms that drained everything in the near vicinity. But those mushrooms also drained her own Chakra. Next to that, she uses poison and spores to fight with against the enemy. She was actually an opponent Itachi would rather not face.

Takabashi Nakao was a brash young man, a typical brawler who went completely nuts in fights. The dark blonde-haired man was very troublesome, too, as he was a Taijutsu expert with a poison touch. Itachi was sure that Gai stood no chance against this guy simply because of the poison in his attacks, but he was so predictable in his movements that he was no match for Itachi.

The other squad was lead by Nagato, with Uchiha Shisui second in command. Other members of Nagato's squad were Hatsu Heishou, Tayuya and Kinuta Teri.

Hatsu Heishou was formerly a Grass Genin, and now a Rain Jounin. Grass was no more, anyway, as Hanzou had merged it with Ame, alongside Stone Country. He had short, dark green hair and dark green eyes, his skin as tan as your average Kumo-nin. While he was in no way as skilled as the Shodaime Hokage, he had control over plants.

Tayuya and Kinuta Teri were formerly known as Oto Chuunin, until they defected. Tayuya was a Genjutsu specialist and Teri was a Sound Specialist.

Apparently, both were in line to receive Orochimaru's Cursed Seal, when the Shuuban had invaded Oto to kill a single person with a high bounty. Tayuya and Teri, in the midst of the chaos had escaped from Oto, to Rain, never knowing that the Shuuban originally came from there.

And now the Rain was aligned to Konoha. He wondered what would happen after all of this. He knew Madara wasn't sitting still and neither was Orochimaru. Iwa downright hated both Konoha and Ame and he didn't know what Kumo and Kiri's place was in all of this. The Uchiha did know that big things were about to happen.

He would protect Ame with all his might, though. He was loyal to Ame and Ame alone.

* * *

The trees went by him fast, so fast that when it seemed like when he past one tree, he actually went past eight. He loved the sounds around him when he was moving this fast.

Hanzou had given him and two other members of the Shuuban a very important mission. Apparently, Kirigakure had been hit hard and had been overtaken by a rebel force. Not much was known, other than that refugees were running away from the Country. Their mission was to locate Choujiro, a Mist Jounin who was currently wielding the Twin Sword 'Hiramekarei.'

Naruto, Mangetsu and Kushimaru were sent out to go and recruit him for the Shuuban.

Kushimaru was the sensor-nin of the three. "Many Shinobi are out and about, I have to say… Things will become very sticky, very soon. Powerful Chakra Signatures that could very well rival our own are amongst our target." Kushimaru moved his head, or his hunter-nin mask under his gas mask, to Naruto. "Activate your Byakugan, Naruto." He ordered as he landed on a tree branch, followed by both Naruto and Mangetsu.

The blonde did so. "Yugakure… The Hidden Village of Hot Springs. Usually a peaceful Village, but now… " Naruto observed how a group of injured Shinobi was slowly travelling through the shadows, not wanting to be noticed. They had a few caravans with them. He estimated that they were with round about thirty, thirty-five people. With his Byakugan he could see Kiri Hitai-Ate.

"Around thirty people, right? There are two that could mean trouble to us amongst them." He sighed. "I am more worried about a duo approaching in the distance."

Naruto immediately expanded the view his Byakugan gave him to see… "Oh shit… I know that guy."

Mangetsu chuckled, summoning one of his swords. "Tcheh, when you talk like that, it means we're about to enter battle, Naruto."

Kushimaru glanced at the two swords Mangetsu summoned. "Fang, huh?"

Mangetsu grinned at his fellow former Swordsman. "Nah…" he summoned his other sword as well. "Tcheh, you forget who I am, Kushimaru? I can have as many arms as I want with this body."

Kushimaru rolled his eyes as Mangetsu also summoned the 'Helmsplitter.' He summoned his own swords as well. "You know, saying things a hundred times over don't make 'm any cooler."

Naruto joined in on the sword summoning. He held a sword made purely out of Chakra, dark red, bubbling and poisonous Chakra. "I don't know the other guy, but one of them is Kakuzu, one of the best Bounty Hunters out there. He's strong. So… there's no need for us to hold back this time."

Naruto and Mangetsu were both itching and bitching to fight, being the spitfires they are, but Kushimaru remained calm and held out his arm, motioning for both of them to wait. "Let them attack this Kiri convoy first… I want to see who the strong ones among them are…"

* * *

As soon as his partner landed on the ground near the last caravan of the group, Kakuzu knew this was going to be a bloodbath. The fact that the first two persons close to the caravan were now mere showers of blood in the sky greatly proved his point.

Hidan was always such a bother. His lack of fear of getting hurt made him a loose cannonball. Kakuzu took a look at his surroundings, not at all impressed by the Shinobi he saw. "I suppose there will be no money making in these affairs…" He murmured to himself as Hidan was already ripping through several other Kiri Shinobi.

The land of Hot Springs was a tranquil place. The remains of Kiri had chosen to travel through these lands for honorable reasons, he guessed. To minimize the casualties? How stupid. How very unlike the cold Kirigakure. This Terumi Mei truly changed the Mist for the worse.

Kakuzu calmly raised one of his eyebrows as Hidan suddenly laid on the ground by his feet, blood pouring out of his mouth. "What's wrong, Hidan? You need some help?" He taunted.

"Shut your fucking mouth, Kakuzu! You're the one who'll be needing my help by the end of the day!" Hidan screeched in that annoying voice Kakuzu had come to hate.

But Kakuzu changed his aloof mood as he saw who had blasted Hidan back. "It seems we're having a criminal in our midst." He noted, as if he and Hidan were not criminals. "I'll be receiving my paycheck in Konoha, it seems."

Ao narrowed his eyes at the other Shinobi who attacked his group. "Mizukage-sama, stay back. These two are no normal nins." Ao was an aging man, definitely a Kiri Jounin. He had a bounty put on him by Konoha because he was in the possession of a Byakugan Eye.

Behind him, one of the new generation of Seven Swordsmen of the Mist, stood, albeit hesitantly. "A-Ao, I've got your back."

The man nodded his head, making sure Mei, the red-haired woman in the back, stayed where she was. There was no need to put his leader in danger here.

"Terumi Mei, right? I'm afraid our mission is to kill you. And my personal mission is to kill you as well, Ao." Kakuzu grinned, taking one step forward.

"Stay back, Kakuzu! These pathetic insects are all mine!" Hidan leveled his scythe at the Kiri-nin and showed a crazy grin. "Time to rip you apart!"

Ao, captain of the entire group that currently travelled through Yugakure, motioned forward with his hand, and many Kiri Chuunin and Jounin jumped forward, intent on dealing with the duo. But the captain was shocked to see Hidan didn't slow down at all as he was racing towards him. 'I hit him hard in a vital spot in his stomach, he shouldn't be able to move so freely! He's definitely no ordinary Shinobi.' Ao thought, rushing forward as well and scoring a massive hit on top of Hidan's head, sending hard into the ground.

'He won't be able to get up from that… I poured Chakra into that attack and hit him in the brain. Thank the lord he isn't very fast.' Ao turned to the remaining enemy, after seeing that Hidan hadn't killed too many of his own forces. "I'm afraid your partner is dead. But don't worry, you'll be sure to follow."

He didn't expect a chuckle for a response, and certainly not one as genuine and amused as this one. Ao was no stupid Shinobi and instantly jumped away from the corpse underneath him. Who knows, maybe this other guy knew Kugutsu no Jutsu or something of the sort?

It came as no surprise to him to see Hidan stand up again, but… "You shitfucker! That hurt like hell, damn it!" That did. Hidan popped his neck back into place.

'Impossible! He's perfectly fine!' Ao cursed inwardly. "Are you immortal?"

"Ao…" The captain flinched at the voice as Terumi Mei stepped forward. "Let me deal with these two nuisances."

"A-as you wish, Mizukage-sama! I'll cover you!" Ao bowed shortly, before preparing himself once again. Choujirou behind him did the same. With no handseals ever spotted, the Mizukage unleashed a wave of Lava towards Hidan and Kakuzu.

"Yoton, Youkai no Jutsu!"

Kakuzu had jumped far to the side and seemed amused that Hidan had done the same. "Very clever, Hidan. If that had hit you you would've been a living mess of burned flesh. There's no stopping Lava like that…"

Hidan didn't pay him no mind and immediately rushed back to the Kiri-nin. Kakuzu observed how Hidan ran straight into acidic mist. "Quite a formidable opponent, this Terumi Mei. Too bad Hidan won't die so easily, though."

Mei seemed surprised to see Hidan keeping the same speed, despite running through her acidic mist. She immediately clasped her hands together. "Yoton, Youganryuu!" Hidan's eyes widened as Lava was everywhere on the ground near Mei. 'Crap!' He jumped back to see that Kakuzu had finished a set of handseals around the same time two weird masks popped from out of his shoulders.

Mei's eyes widened as Kakuzu unleashed a combination of Water and Wind Chakra towards her. "Yoton, Enchoukyuu!" Lava surrounded her and her fellow Kiri Ninja completely to protect them from the massive attack. Ao and Choujirou and all the other Kiri-nin looked fearful as they looked at the inside of the Lava Dome Mei had created, afraid that Lava would spill down towards them.

Mei allowed an opening behind her. "Everyone flee! These two are too strong for me to protect you! Go!"

All the Kiri-nin quickly did as they could, while Ao and Choujirou stayed. "We won't run away, Mizukage-sama!"

"We… We won't leave you!" The shorter of the two guards yelled out.

Mei smiled as she let the Lava Dome die down. "Then let's kill these two!"

* * *

"Double Layer?"

Kushimaru rubbed an itch above his right eye away, before answering Mangetsu. "Naruto says one of them has a Byakugan. I don't want him to spot us, so we can make easy work of all of them when we choose to jump in. All we need is this Choujirou guy. We don't know what he looks like, but he'll be carrying the Hiramekarei. We don't need to partake in battle, despite your desperate need for killing."

Mangetsu stomped a stone on the ground deeper into the dirt. "You're so boring, Kushimaru." He whined.

Naruto yawned as he was seated on the ground, his one Byakugan Eye still active. "Double Layer Genjutsu, pretty sweet Kushimaru." He grabbed a scroll out of one of his pockets and started reading again, his Byakugan sight still on the fight a mile and half away. "She's pretty good, by the way."

"Who is?" Both Kushimaru and Mangetsu asked, as they were just about to comment on Naruto for being a bookworm.

"That woman fighting off Kakuzu and the other guy. She can use Lava and poison very similar to Hanzou-sama's." He scribbled down something. "But they're going to lose. The other guy seems to be invulnerable to everything."

Mangetsu's eyes seemed to shine. "Everything, huh?"

"How long?"

Naruto looked up to stare at Kushimaru. "How long before they're gonna kick the bucket?" He shrugged in mid-sentence. "I think about five minutes or so…"

Kushimaru seemed to ponder over this. "That's too risky. We've never failed a mission before, this will not be the first. We can't allow that Choujirou guy to be accidentally killed." He then grinned behind his mask. "Rock, Paper, Scissors! Who goes first to help out!"

Naruto and Mangetsu both jumped at the opportunity.

* * *

"Stay back, Hidan, this opponent is a bad match-up for you."

As much as Hidan wanted to argue, he knew Kakuzu had a point. "Fine!" he grumbled. "I'll take care of the other two."

The immortal stepped back as four black figures seemed to rip out of Kakuzu's body, all of them carrying a mask of some sort.

"You heard him, didn't you?" Mei asked the two behind her. "You two deal with the one with the scythe. I'll deal with the masked one."

"Roger!" Ao and Choujirou both got ready to change positions.

All four of Kakuzu's black elemental beings rushed forward, at the exact same time Ao and Choujirou rushed towards Hidan. Kakuzu let them pass over him, as he was, for the moment, only interested in taking care of the biggest threat on the field.

In the air, the four all unleashed their respective element, Earth, Water, Wind and Fire at Mei, who seemed to be having performed the Yoton Bunshin Technique. The combination of those four elements caused a great explosion. Kakuzu landed on the ground in front of the group of Lava Clones that survived the blast.

His four black beings landed on the other side of the Lava Clones. "Impressive, your clones are very versatile." Kakuzu clenched his hands in anticipation, it had been a long time since he faced such a powerful adversary.

"You'll have to do better than just throwing Jutsu at me." Mei grinned as her acidic mist was already expanding around her.

"Fuuton, Gufuu no Jutsu!" and "Doton, Kataishi no Jutsu!" were yelled out by Kakuzu and the result was a tornado of sharp stone spikes all around the lava Clones and the real Mei. Most of the stone spikes melted, but some were blown straight through some Lava Clones, effectively dispelling them.

It continued on, until only one remained, because the acid cloud around her was too powerful for spike to hit her.

"Zettai Bogyou, huh?" Kakuzu muttered. "I always hate dealing with those."

Mei was impressed that this guy could give her such a hard time. "I take it you are part of the rebel force overtaking Kirigakure?"

"You assume right, woman." Kakuzu changed his form into a long-range fighters, tentacles making him ascend towards the sky. His four beings quickly joined him in mid-air. "I'll show you why it was so easy for us. We are just this powerful!"

The Mizukage watched as Kakuzu's Water and Earth beings opened their mouths. The Doton and Suiton combination created a massive wave of mud to come for Mei, who simply shielded herself with lava. "Kouka no Jutsu." Kakuzu whispered as the mud and the lava around Mei combined to create a hardened dome of metal. "Now, then…." He performed a few seals. "Raiton, Rakurai no Jutsu!"

A thunderblast headed straight for the metal dome around Mei, sure to fry her to death.

Kakuzu watched the massive show of lightning before his eyes, but he also saw the metal he had just created melting rapidly. "I see… Your acidic mist is very powerful indeed, but the damage I've dealt to you was real."

While Mei had suffered little from Kakuzu's attack, a little from a attack so big was still a lot. As she climbed out of a hole of the metal dome, one she created by melting it, Kakuzu could see she wasn't in perfect shape anymore. He quickly continued. "Fuuton, Atsugai!"

Mei's eyes widened at the massive Wind Blast coming for her. Her Acidic Mist couldn't stop that, so she quickly summoned up Lava from around her. She doubted it would be in time, though.

"Mizukage-sama!" Choujirou yelled as Ao was busy blasting Hidan away.

The Wind Blast was stopped by a single Sword swing from…

Kakuzu's eyes widened as he remained mid-air. "Hozuhki Mangetsu? You're still alive? I can't believe my luck today! You've got an even bigger bounty than Ao over there!"

Mangetsu gave his Sword 'Helmsplitter' an appreciative look. His sword could blow through any defense, but it could also defend against any offense. He turned to the woman he had just saved. "Tcheh, are you Choujirou, by any chance?"

A vein popped on Mei's forehead. "Do I look like a male!"

"Oh? Choujirou is a male name, huh?" Mangetsu learned something new as he turned away from the fuming woman and looked at the fighting nin in front of him. "Tcheh, Which is he?"

Kakuzu slowly lowered himself to the ground somewhat. "You're a fool Mangetsu… I know your weakness! Raiton, -"

"Awwww crap!" Mangetsu groaned, readying himself to jump away.

"Kazanrai!" Kakuzu finished announcing his Jutsu.

A huge show of lightning rained down towards Mangetsu, who just let himself sink into the ground. Mei had jumped backwards to avoid getting hit, but noticed that Mangetsu turned his entire body into water. 'Ah, that's what he meant by weakness. Obviously electricity.'

"I've got news for you, Mangetsu! Your little brother's on our side! He's just as weak as you are, too!" Kakuzu chuckled as he landed on the ground. "Oy, Hidan! What's taking you so long? I'm facing two strong opponents here! You having trouble with those two little bunnies?" Kakuzu yelled over his shoulder.

"Shut up! They're fucking fast!" Hidan was slashing all around him with his Scythe, but he was getting nowhere. It seemed Choujirou, despite being very insecure, was very talented in Kenjutsu, and was easily hitting Hidan while at the same time completely and easily avoiding Hidan's attacks. And Ao would jump in at times to score hits at vital spots that didn't seem to slow down Hidan at all.

Mangetsu materialized close to Hidan and noticed the young man wielding the Hiramekarei. "Tcheh, you're Choujirou, right? You need to come with me!"

Choujirou jumped away from Hidan as Ao closed in on the Tsukigami Member. "T-those are the Bolt and the Helmsplitter! You… You must be Hozuhki Mangetsu!"

"Tcheh, indeed I am!" Mangetsu chuckled. He suddenly had a sneaking suspicion something bad was going on behind his back. He took a look over his shoulder to see several orbs of lightning approaching him fast. "Shit! What the hell, you don't attack a man when he's got his back turned to you, damn it!" Choujirou quickly jumped to the side as the lightning orbs hit the ground where Mangetsu had just sunk into.

"Stop running, coward!" Kakuzu snarled. He was making sure Mei wasn't going for a sneak attack as he was focusing on Mangetsu. Mei seemed to be catching her breath, though. 'Those Lava Techniques and Boil Techniques must take a lot out of the woman.' The Bounty hunter surmised. 'Combining elements for durable techniques like that… She should be dead tired, but she actually has quite the Chakra Stamina.'

He took a look at her panting form. 'Still, it took quite a lot from her to guard against my attacks. She's an easy target now, I'll deal with Mangetsu first.'

Two persons suddenly appeared out of completely nowhere, next to the still melting dome Mei and Kakuzu had created. Mangetsu had dropped one of Naruto's signature Kunai there when he arrived.

Mei was completely surprised, as was Kakuzu, as they hadn't sensed the two approach at all!

Kakuzu hadn't had a good look at Mangetsu's outfit yet, but he turned enraged when he saw the crest on both of these two newcomer's uniforms. "Shuuban!"

Now that was something she knew of. The Shuuban, an infamous organization of Bounty Hunters, working under the Rain Country. Was Hozuhki Mangetsu also one of them? Mei wasn't really hurt, but she had used a lot of Chakra for her techniques. These two… were they here to help or…?

"Oy, Mangetsu, I told you to wear a mask. Your ugly mug is easily recognized, after all. You'll be demoted for sure when we get back." Kushimaru shook his head, as he knew Mangetsu was in his water form, crawling around. "You grab the boy, we'll deal with Kakuzu."

"Shuuban! You're the reason I'm making less and less money!" All of his black beings merged back into him and a mask appeared on his left and right shoulder, his chest and his left and right knee. "You will die here!"

"Hooo… looks like someone's pissed, eh?" Naruto said as he pointed obnoxiously towards the infuriated Kakuzu, while looking at Kushimaru. "Rock, Paper, Scissors?"

Hidan had enough of all the inactivity and rushed past Kakuzu straight towards Naruto and Kushimaru, only to drop to the ground as his body was chopped in half, from head to crotch, courtesy of Naruto, who now suddenly had appeared behind the rushing Hidan, wielding a weird, blood-colored sword.

Kakuzu's eyes widened at the Technique. "H-Hiraishin…? That means…" If possible, Kakuzu turned even more furious…

Ao and Choujirou were slack-jawed. Mei let out an impressed, but very unsure laugh, while Kushimaru was shaking his head. Mangetsu materialized next to Naruto and Kakuzu now noticed the same crest on Mangetsu's outfit. The Crest that said 'Shinigami.' The crest of the Shuuban.

"You didn't even wait." Kushimaru pointed out, ignoring Kakuzu for the moment.

"Well, he WAS trying to kill us just now, you know." Naruto refuted, pointing at the weird mess of body on the ground, which oddly enough, was still moving a bit.

"Enough playing around... Choujirou!" Kushimaru yelled out to the young man standing next to Ao. "We have some business with you! I don't care about anyone else, we leave with you now!"

"You're not going anywhere, Shuuban!" Kakuzu was readying himself for some massive Jutsu unleashing. "You think taking all of my bounties away will go unpunished! You will pay not with money, but with your miserable lives!"

Ao and Choujirou had quickly positioned themselves in front of the Mizukage, while Naruto and Mangetsu stayed where they were.

Kushimaru was frowning behind his mask. 'We're with way too many for him to be cocky like that, right?' he thought to himself. 'What an idiot.'

* * *

TBC

Yoooo, new story! I know I have a shitload of stories on my profile, all of which have yet to be finished, butttt…. I'm still writing all of them! Melancholy's Smile and Aerial Perspective are almost done, their next chapter I mean.

This story has a few OCs, taken from one of my earlier stories, There Where When Is Now, Book 2. Takabashi Nakao, Kinuta Teri, Hatsu Heishou and Kinoko Kutake. I'll introduce them properly in the next chapter. As for how everything is at it now is, it'll be explained! How Naruto ended up in Rain, how Sasuke ended up with Madara, how Orochimaru gained the Sharingan, how some people are where they are and all that.

Thanks for reading!


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